Drunken Pirate of the Caribbean: At Wit's End on MySpace

In the summer of 2003 a drunken pirate burst onto the big screen in the form of Captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny Depp in the highly anticipated release of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Captain Jack became an instantly beloved character that not only found his way into the hearts of America's youth, but also found Johnny Depp's character portrayal permanently installed into "The Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney theme parks. Who wouldn't want to be drunken pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow for a day? He's an American icon.

In the fall of 2005 a twenty five year old beloved student of Millersville University named Stacy Snyder, burst onto her personal MySpace page with her own endearing portrayal of a drunken pirate. She wore a little less make-up than Captain Jack Sparrow, did not sweat the wardrobe details, nor bothered to include the dreadlocks or decorative pirate head gear. She appropriately captioned her photo "drunken pirate" loosely implying "drink up me hardies, yo ho!"  That caption along with her Jack Sparrow portrayal, finds her two years later being improperly denied her bachelor of science in education degree and a teaching certificate from Millersville University. University officials told her that the photo was "unprofessional" and could offend her students if they accessed her MySpace page. At the time the photo was taken Stacy was of legal drinking age, in addition to the fact that the picture did not show the contents of the cup.

"I dreamed about being a teacher for a long time," said Snyder, 27, of Strasburg, who has two young sons. She now works as a nanny. Source: Fox News

Wait just one minute! We love Captain Jack the drunken pirate. Kids love Captain Jack the drunken pirate and so do their parents. When did the portrayal of a drunken pirate become a moral issue that would deny a college student her degree?  Someone missed the joke here. This month on May 25th the third installment in the drunken pirate film trilogy is due in theaters. It's entitled "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End." We will all watch as we cheer on our favorite swash-buckling pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow in all of his drunkenness. I love that about him. Come on, it's a character, he's not real.

Was Stacy Snyder censured because she's a women attempting to play a man's role as Captain Jack?  Was that just too absurd for the University to accept? If that's the case then Sandy Duncan has some explaining to do for her broadway portrayal of Peter Pan. I'm still ticked off after being reminded of that sham. Could it have been Stacy's less than stellar commitment to her drunken pirate make-up and costume? Was that the unprofessional part they were referring to? Could that offend her young students? Certainly a college student can't be expected to rival a costume with the magic of Disney on a fixed budget. What exactly were the Millersville University officials thinking when they chose this course of action? Did they think she was actually drinking or drunk? Come on, she was playing a character, it's not real. America adores the drunken pirate character. They are all over The Pirates of The Caribbean ride at Disneyland. They're even chasing scantily clad women around as well. They're not real either. No one gets offended by that. They are constantly singing "drink up me hardies, yo ho!" Is Disney guilty of  encouraging underage drinking on their ride?

"There was a time when a pirate was free to make his own way in the world, but our time is coming to an end."  Captain Barbossa

Stacy Snyder is suing the university for $75,000 in damages in addition to the teaching degree that she earned. I applaud this young mother of two for returning to college and working hard to complete her degree. I applaud Ms. Snyder for holding Millersville University accountable for enforcing such a petty sanction over her pretending to live a pirate's life. We cannot get enough of the Captain Jack Sparrow lifestyle. Women can't get enough of Captain Jack, he's portrayed by Johnny Depp for crying out loud.

Theaters will be packed on May 25th anxiously awaiting more drunken pirate pranking to infinity and beyond. I cannot get enough of Captain Stacy Snyder either. She makes an adorable drunken pirate even without the magic of Disney. Bravo Stacy! Bravo! Stand up and take your bow. Then kiss those boys of yours goodnight and crack open a cold one for Captain Jack Sparrow and all of the drunken pirates out there, everywhere. This time with no cameras allowed.

And when you win your lawsuit you can go out and get the best Captain Jack Sparrow costume money can buy. Then you'll show them a real professional drunken pirate singing all the way to the bank; "yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me." That's right! You go gurl!

Watch CNN Video   Read Smoking Gun post

Read: Pirate Saga Finishes in Grand Swashbuckling Style

Comments

[Sindy]

Unreal! Kudos to her for fighting back against the idiocy!

[domestika]

I believe that the only possible response to the Stacy Snyder story is... Sheesh! Where the heck is this Millersville University - in Bedrock, four blocks down from the Flintstones?

[lilyruth]

I loved the movie about the pirates, and Johnny. Your article I really enjoyed reading. Your talents are many.

[HAHA]

MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY WINS “DRUNKEN PIRATE” LAWSUIT -
NEVER ABOUT MYSPACE PHOTO

MILLERSVILLE, Pa., December 3, 2008 – Federal Judge Paul Diamond has dismissed all charges against Millersville University of Pennsylvania and has issued a verdict in favor of five Millersville University administrators and against Stacey Snyder. The charges against the University had been dismissed earlier in the litigation. After a bench trial, the judge ruled today in favor of the defendants; Dr. Jane S. Bray, dean of the School of Education; Dr. Vilas A. Prabhu, provost and vice president of academic affairs; J. Barry Girvin, Snyder’s student teaching supervisor; Dr. Judith Wenrich, student teaching coordinator; and Dr. Beverly Schneller, chair of English.

“We are pleased with the judge’s ruling,” said Francine G. McNairy, president of Millersville University. “This ruling exonerates the University and upholds the principles of academic integrity that are the foundation of the University and our School of Education.”

“In spite of the national media saying otherwise, this was never about a photograph,” said McNairy. “To the contrary it was about performance standards. The ruling confirms that Millersville University has a quality teacher education program with high standards for certifying teachers and those principles must be upheld.” In her lawsuit, Snyder had claimed that she was denied a teaching certificate because of a photograph of her on MySpace. The photograph in question showed Snyder wearing a pirate hat with a cup in her hand, and the caption, “Drunken Pirate” below the photo.

Snyder attended Millersville from June 2002 to May 2006 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English, rather than a bachelor’s degree in education because she did not meet the requirements to become a teacher. Judge Paul Diamond ruled that Millersville University did not have the authority to award Snyder bachelor’s degree in education because Snyder failed to complete the required student teaching component of the degree; and as a result Snyder was not eligible for an initial teaching certificate. Diamond indicated that it would not serve the public interest and would be an impermissible abuse of the court’s equitable powers to order Millersville University to recommend Snyder for certification to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The judge also ruled in his verdict that the University did not violate Snyder’s First Amendment right to free expression.

“Millersville University is committed to serving our students and the children they will teach,” said McNairy. “Providing quality teachers for the Commonwealth and nation is something we take very seriously. It’s about the children.”